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How to Transform Your Credit Union Nominations

In credit unions, one of the top concerns of leadership is having a static board of directors with the same members running for election year after year. But, finding new and qualified candidates to run for election is no easy task.

You might also find that the nomination process in a credit union is complex if you leverage traditional approaches. Labor-intensive manual paperwork nominations can stretch your resources and budget.

In comparison, transitioning to an online nomination process offers a seamless, secure, and easily managed approach. An electronic petition and nomination process can significantly improve engagement and ensure a dynamic leadership team.

You can transform the nomination process for your credit union’s board of directors in a few steps.

1. Encourage Member Engagement and Board Participation

The first challenge is inspiring members to apply for positions on your credit union board. Creating a sense of competition through contested elections acts as a compelling driving force, motivating members to become more engaged and participate in the voting process.

Effectively utilizing your communication platforms is vital to increasing engagement. By leveraging your communication platforms, you can:

  • Educate and inform members on the importance of running for leadership positions.
  • Explain how membership involvement enhances credit union activities like governance.
  • Highlight how increased membership involvement directly impacts the future of your credit union.
  • Emphasize the positive effects that diverse and dedicated leadership can bring to the overall well-being of your organization.

2. Simplify the Nomination Process for Members and Administrators

The nomination process should be easy for candidates, members, and your administrative team. No member wants to jump through hoops and struggle with paperwork. Cutting-edge nomination and petition software offers benefits throughout your entire organization:

  • Standardized processes: Administrators can vet candidates online in an easy and effective way through nomination process standardization. All application formats are the same, allowing administrators to control the questions, required fields and word counts for standardized data across the candidate board.
  • Increased engagement: Nominees can self-register at any time, making it simple to identify and run for open positions. When members can easily access and submit nomination applications at their convenience and from any location, engagement improves.

3. Streamline Petitions

Innovative technology makes collecting signatures for petitions a cinch. Online petitions also make it easy for your credit union to check signatures against the member list, saving considerable time. With streamlined petitions, administrators can access a comprehensive and easily manageable record of signatures, enhancing transparency and accountability.

Streamlining the petition process not only enhances accessibility but also ensures a more convenient and efficient experience for members participating in the process. Online nominations provide equal opportunity for all members to participate, encouraging more members to engage with the process.

4. Use Monitoring and Tracking Technology to Your Advantage

By leveraging nomination tracking software, you can check nominees’ progress and view insight reports to help you enhance your processes further. Your administrators can use real-time tracking to address issues and reach out to candidates before the nomination process ends.

You can utilize all the data, reporting, and tracking to enhance future nominations, making systems frictionless and efficient.

A Case for Credit Union Nominations

In 2018, HawaiiUSA Federal Credit Union Nominations and Elections Committee Chair Jean Miyahira sat down with Mike Lawson, host of CUbroadcast, to share how they’ve utilized technology to transform their election.

HawaiiUSA Federal Credit Union was facing difficulties in finding candidates for a director position. In collaborating with Survey & Ballot Systems (SBS) for a combination election, the credit union was able to successfully move its nomination process to an online format. This transition created a lot of interest among the members. Their nomination process had little to no interest when hard copy applications were the only option, but when an online version was available, “doing it electronically was exciting for them,” said Miyahira.

Simplifying and enhancing the convenience of the nomination process had a noticeable impact on the credit union. When candidates were asked why they ran for the board, it was ease-of-use that made it more appealing. “A lot of people said technology changed their attitude about applying,” Miyahira added.

Streamline Your Credit Union Nominations and Voting

SBS has been helping credit unions simplify their nomination and voting process since 1990. Our innovative solutions can help you streamline your systems and boost member participation.

Want to learn more about how to get your whole process in one place? Contact us today — we’re here to help!